UK residents returning from overseas Covid-19 hotspots abroad will have to quarantine in hotels from February 15.
Confirmation came as the government came under increasing political pressure to outline details of plans first revealed last month.
Hotels will be asked to provide rooms for more than 1,000 passengers a day, official documents suggest.
Passengers will have to stay in their rooms for 10 nights, with security guards accompanying if they go outside.
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Comment: Welcome to Hotel Quarantine
Quarantine hotels are expected to be set up near airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen in addition to sea ports.
The scheme is planned to run until at least March 31.
The rules will apply to UK nationals and residents returning to the country from 33 high risk nations, including several South American and African countries where new Covid variants have been detected, plus Portugal and the United Arab Emirates. Passengers will be expected to pay for the cost of the accommodation.
Most foreign nationals from high-risk countries already face UK travel bans.
The government wants quarantine hotels to be made available “on an exclusive basis”, according to documents reportedly seen by the BBC.
It is working “at pace” to secure the rooms it needs and has had discussion with more than 60 companies in the hotel and travel industries.
Guests will have three meals a day in their rooms, with tea, coffee, fruit and water being available.
Security will “accompany any of the arrived individuals to access outside space should they need to smoke or get fresh air”, one document says.
One hospitality industry source said the government estimated the cost at about £80 per night per person.
“If they are taking rooms for 1,425 passengers per night until 31 March, that is a bill of £55 million.”
The plan estimates that 1,425 passengers will need to be quarantined each day, with the majority arriving at Heathrow.
It estimates that an “implied total capacity” of 28,140 rooms will be required as each room will require a 72-hour deep clean after each 10-day stay, according to The Telegraph.
Passengers will be required to take a Covid test on both their second and eighth days, allowing them to leave if it is negative.
A Department of Health spokesperson said it was working “at pace” to roll out managed quarantine facilities in the run-up to February 15.
“In the face of new variants, it is important that the government continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives,” the spokesperson said.
Commercial specifications were sent on Thursday evening to hotels near air and sea ports asking for proposals on delivering quarantine facilities ahead of formal contracts being awarded.
The government is expected to set out further details next week on how passengers will be able to book into the designated hotels.
An announcement on the scheme by health Matt Hancock had been promised for Thursday by Boris Johnson, but it was postponed until next week as officials rushed to put together plans to meet the February 15 deadline.
Hancock will chair a new Cabinet sub-committee to oversee efforts to implement mandatory quarantine and enhanced testing aimed at preventing the spread of new Covid variants.
More: Quarantine hotels ‘make sense’ says former WTTC chief